Profile and method of forming same

ABSTRACT

A cold-rolling method of forming a profile formed of a strip-shaped rolling stock and having thickness-reduced section ( 16 ) and at least one thickened region ( 21, 22 ) provided in a region of at least one bend ( 17, 18 ) of the profile, includes deforming a strip-shaped rolled metal stock in at least one region for forming the thickness-reduced section, with simultaneous accumulation of the initial material in a region adjacent to the thickness-reduced section so that a thickened region is formed adjacent to the thickness-reduced section, and bending the deformed rolled metal stock section into the profile.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/313,893filed Nov. 24, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a profile formed of a strip-shapedrolling stock having an initial material thickness and including atleast one thickness-reduced section having a thickness that is smallerthan the initial material thickness of the rolling stock, and at leastone bend. The present invention also relates to a method of forming sucha profile.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Profiles, such as used, e.g., in the mounting or installation technologyare produced, e.g., from a strip-shaped rolling stock by deformation ina rolling plant. The profiles can have a round, polygonal, or C-shapedcross-section.

In order to reduce the costs of a material, U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,833suggests, e.g., to reduce thickness of at least one section of therolling stock so that the material thickness in the thickness-reducedregion is smaller than the initial material thickness of thestrip-shaped rolling stock. With the thickness reduction, which iscarried out by a cold rolling process, the strip-shaped rolling stockwidens in the width direction so that the width of the thickness-reducedsection is greater than the initial width of the strip-shaped rollingstock.

When a desired profile is formed of a sectionwise-deformed rollingstock, the at least one thickness-reduced section of the rolling stockis so arranged that it is located in a statistically little loadedregion, e.g., adjacent to the neutral line in the primarily loadeddirections of the profile. The thickness-reduced section of the rollingstock extends along the longitudinal axis of the produced profile.

The drawback of the proposed solution consists in that in order tooptimally use the material-saving effect, as large as possible thicknessreduction is desired. The local thinning of the rolling stock, however,can lead to the loss of stiffness, which limits the maximal possiblereduction of the thickness.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a profilewhich is formed of a strip-shaped rolling stock and which is optimizedboth with regard to saving of material and with regard to stiffness.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method offorming a profile which is formed of a strip-shaped stock and which isoptimized both with regard to saving of material and with regard tostiffness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the present invention, which will becomeapparent hereinafter, are achieved by providing at least one thickenedregion in a region of the at least one bend and which has a materialthickness greater than the initial material thickness of the rollingstock the profile is formed of.

By the arrangement of the at least one thickened region in the region ofthe bend, i.e., in or at the bend of the profile, the stiffness of theprofile in a high-loaded region of the material-optimized profile isimproved. The inventive profile characterized, at a contour comparablewith the contour of a profile formed of a strip-shaped rolling stockhaving a constant thickness, by a small increase of the used material,with the loss of stiffness, which is caused by thickness reduction,being compensated at least partially by the at least one thickenedregion or by resulted increase of local stiffness of the profile. Ifnecessary, the stiffness of the produced profile can even be increasedin comparison with a profile formed of a strip-shaped material with aconstant thickness. The at least one thickened region is formed bymaterial accumulation and is formed, during formation of thethickness-reduced section, with correspondingly formed rolls during thecold rolling process in the same rolling step. Providing a thickenedregion formed of material accumulation on a side of thickness-reducedregion ensures the structural integrity of the profile and substantiallyincreases the stiffness of the profile in the thickness-reduced area.

Advantageously, thickened regions are provided on both sides of at leastone thickness-reduced section. If the profile has more than onethickness-reduced region, advantageously, thickened regions or materialaccumulations are provided on both sides of each thickness-reducedsection. The material accumulations, e.g., are provided on one or bothsides of the strip-shaped rolling stock and, thus, on both sides of thedeformed profile formed therefrom.

Advantageously, the at least one thickened region is provided adjacentto the at least one bend. This enables a simple deformation of thestrip-shaped rolling stock and, at the same time, improves the stiffnessof the profile despite the presence of a thickness-reduced section.

The inventive profile has side walls enclosing, at least partially, ahollow space, with the at least one thickened region beingadvantageously located adjacent to the hollow space. Thus, the at leastone thickness region does not project outwardly of the profile, so thatthe function or the arrangement of the profile is not limited by thethickened region-forming material accumulation.

Advantageously, the material thickness of the at least one thickenedregion corresponds to 1.1-2 times of the initial material thickness ofthe rolling stock the profile is formed of. This insures an advantageousimprovement of the stiffness of the material-optimized profile.

Advantageously, the at least one thickened region has a material widthin a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the profile andcorresponding to 1.0-5.0 times of the initial material width of therolling stock the profile is formed of. This likewise insures anadvantageous improvement of the stiffness of the material-optimizedprofile.

The method according to the present invention includes deforming asection of the strip-shaped rolled metal stock in at least one regionthereof for forming the thickness-reduced section therein, withsimultaneous accumulation of the initial material in a region adjacentto the thickness-reduced section and forming a thickened region which isprovide in a region of the at least one bend; and bending thestrip-shaped rolled stock section provided with the thickness reducedsection and the thickened region to form the at least one bend.

With the profile having two side walls spaced from each other andextending parallel to each other, a connection section that connects thetwo side walls, and with each wall having a thickness-reduced sectionand thickened regions provided on both sides of the thickness-reducedsection, the inventive method includes simultaneously forming, in thestrip-shaped rolled stock section, the spaced from each other by apredetermined distance, two thickness-reduced sections, and twothickened regions adjacent to respective inner and outer sides of thethickness reduced sections.

The novel features of the present invention, which are considered ascharacteristic for the invention, are set forth in the appended claims.The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its modeof operation, together with additional advantages and objects thereof,will be best understood from the following detailed description ofpreferred embodiment, when read with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings show:

FIG. 1 a cross-sectional view of a profile according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 a cross-sectional view of a section of the profile shown in FIG.1 in the region of material accumulation at an increased, in comparisonwith FIG. 1, scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A profile 11 according to the present invention, which is shown in FIGS.1-2, has a C-shaped cross-section with two, extending parallel to eachother, side walls 12 and a connection section 13 that connects the twoside walls 12 with each other. A bend 17 is provided between each of theside walls 12 and the connection section 13. The free ends 14 of theside walls 12 are bent inward and, thus, have each a bend 18. The sidewalls 12 partially enclose a hollow space 19. The profile 11 extendsalong a longitudinal axis 15.

The profile 11 is formed of a strip-shaped rolling stock with an initialmaterial thickness W and has two thickness-reduced sections 16 in thetwo side walls 12, respectively. The thickness-reduced sections 16 havea material thickness D that is smaller than the initial materialthickness W. On opposite sides of each of the thickness-reduced sections16, there are provided thickened regions 21, 22, respectively, which areformed by material accumulation and have a material thickness H and amaterial width B. The thickened regions 21, 22 extend transverse to thelongitudinal axis 15 of the profile 11. The material thickness H of thethickened regions 21 and 22 is greater than the initial materialthickness W of the strip-shaped rolling stock. The thickened regions 21,22 are located adjacent to the hollow space 19 and extend along thelongitudinal axis 15 of the profile 11. The thickened region 21 in theregion of the bend 17 of the profile 11 is located directly in the bend17. The thickened region 22 is located, in the region of the bend 18 ofthe profile 11, directly adjacent to the bend 18.

The material thickness H of the thickened regions 21, 22 corresponds to1.1-2.0 times of the initial thickness W of the strip-shaped rollingstock. The material width B of the thickened regions 21, 22 correspondsto 1.0-5.0 times of the initial material thickness W of the rollingstock. The thickened regions 21, 22 are arranged between thethickness-reduced section 16 and the bends 17 and 18, respectively, withthe thickened regions 22 being arranged adjacent to the bends 18,respectively.

In FIG. 1, the thickened regions 21, 22 are arranged symmetrically onthe profile 11. However, this is not absolutely necessary forimprovement of stiffness of a material-optimized profile 11. Thethickened regions 21, 22, which are arranged on the side wall 12 and/orare located opposite each other, can have different dimensions or bearranged unsymmetrically. Further, it is not necessary that all of thethickened regions extend in the same direction. As shown schematicallywith dash lines, thickened regions 23 can extend outwardly, i.e.,remotely from the hollow space 19.

According to the inventive method, a strip-shaped rolling stock isdeformed in a lateral direction for reduction of its thickness, in two,spaced from each other regions with a correspondingly formed roll orrolls that provide(s) for accumulation of material on opposite sides ofeach thickness-reduced region, whereby thickened regions are formed.

After the thickness-reduced sections with thickened regions on theiropposite sides are formed, the strip-shaped stock is bent to form theprofile.

Though the present invention was shown and described with references tothe preferred embodiment, such is merely illustrative of the presentinvention and is not to be construed as a limitation thereof and variousmodifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilledin the art. It is therefore not intended that the present invention belimited to the disclosed embodiment or details thereof, and the presentinvention includes all variations and/or alternative embodiments withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

1. A cold-rolling method of forming a profile of a strip-shaped coldrolled metal stock having an initial material thickness (W), the profilehaving at least one thickness-reduced section (16) having a thickness(D) that is smaller than the initial material thickness (W) of therolling stock; at least one bend (17; 18); and at least one thickenedregion (21, 22) provided in region of the at least one bend (17, 18)adjacent to the thickness-reduced section (16) and having a materialthickness (H) greater than the initial material thickness (W) of therolling stock the profile (11) is formed of, the method comprising thesteps of: in a single step, deforming a strip-shaped rolled metal stockin at least one region thereof for forming the thickness-reduced sectiontherein and for simultaneous accumulation of the initial material in aregion adjacent to the thickness-reduced section, whereby a thickenedregion is provided adjacent to the thickness-reduced section; andbending the strip-shaped rolled stock provided with thethickness-reduced section and the thickened region adjacent thereto intothe profile.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the profile hastwo side walls (12) spaced from each other and extending parallel toeach other, and a connection section (13) that connects the two sidewalls with each other, wherein the at least one thickness-reducedsection is provided in one of the two side walls, and that at least onebend (17) is provided between the one of the two side walls and theconnection section, wherein the profile includes anotherthickness-reduced section provided in another of the two side walls, andanother bend (17) provided between the another of the two walls and theconnection section, and wherein the single deforming step comprisessimultaneously forming in the strip-shaped rolled stock, spaced fromeach other by a predetermined distance, the at least one and anotherthickness-reduced sections (16), and two thickened regions adjacent torespective inner sides of the at least one and another thickness-reducedsections
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the side walls eachhas, at an end thereof remote from the connection section, an inwardlybendable free end defining a further bend (8), and wherein the singledeforming step further includes simultaneously providing thicknessregions adjacent to respective outer sides of the respectivethickness-reduced section and defining thickened regions (22) at outersides of the thickness-reduced sections.
 4. A method according to claim1, wherein the material thickness of the at least one thickness (H) ofthe at least one thickened region corresponds to 1.1-2 times of theinitial material thickness (W) of the rolling stock the profile (11) isformed of.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least onethickened region (21, 22) has a material width (B) in a directiontransverse to a longitudinal axis (15) of the profile (11) andcorresponding to 1.0-5.0 times of the initial material width (W) of therolling stock the profile (11) is formed of.